Sprint Launches Cheap Prepaid Plan for Texters
Sprint just launched another attack in the ongoing price war between cell phone networks with the announcement of a new prepaid plan aimed at customers who text more than they talk.
This plan includes unlimited Web, data and texting, along with 300 minutes of talk time, for $25 per month.
Sprint's new plan applies only to the Virgin Mobile brand, a specialized prepaid service on the Sprint network. Sprint's new payment plan upends the traditional industry habit of basing plan pricing around talk minutes. The new texting-centric plan targets the growing number of people, including teens, who text and access the Web on their phones more than they talk.
The new plan starts on May 12 and has two more options for those who need more minutes: $40 for 1,200 minutes and $60 for unlimited minutes. BlackBerry-specific data service can also be added for $10.
There are some downsides to this offer, though. Because it's a prepaid plan, there is no contract, but that also means there are no phone subsidies. Users must pay full price for phones. The selection of prepaid phones is also less impressive than those available on contract plans.
The good news is that this move may put pressure on other carriers to offer unlimited texting and data at lower prices. It also makes the prepaid plans more attractive because they are cheaper and don't require a 2-year commitment like the contracts offered by Sprint and American providers .
